The coming of age story of a veterinary technician who cared for 15,000 non-human primates for six months in 1995. I was a naive twenty two year old Yankee in Lowcountry South Carolina. The adventure spans six months, two mainland compounds, the exotic animal plantation of a famous Hollywood producer. And Monkey Island where 3,000 rhesus macaques roamed free across a sea island. You can't make this stuff up.
This is the story of my first job after college. For six months between May and October of 1995, I worked as a veterinary technician at a large non-human primate breeding facility. A monkey farm. I'm able to recall the experience in detail because after that six months, everyone I knew insisted I share what happened. Over and over. I am also fortunate to be able to recall visual experiences in great detail.
This means I am confident that much of the detail in this book is accurate. For example, the young macaque Jonny who tore a hole in a red kickball and wore it on her head like an astronaut helmet. The escaped macaque brought in dead on a pole by two hunters. The pygmy hippo who attacked three zebras at an exotic plantation designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The hangover, fresh stitches, and a new tattoo that happened on Monkey Island.
Breeding and use of non-human primates for research is a complex topic. Like all complex topics, there is much debate about the good and the bad. I have my own perspective at midlife, but do my best to keep it out of this book. Instead, I share my experience through the eyes of the twenty two year old boy I was in 1995. During my summer among the macaques.
